Going to Hell
by Invisible Pheebs
Summary: "So I'll come in on Wednesday as I usually would, and then be there to grin and shake hands with Dr Young. Will that be all, Dr Strange?" she forced a smile on her face in attempt to be sweet, and the older doctor gave her a curt nod. "That will be all"
1. White Nail Polish

"Your nail polish is white today, _Doctor_"

"Why yes, It is"

The clown prince of crime sat back, or attempt to sit back, within the bonds of the chair. Great leather straps held his wrists and ankles in place, and it had only been due to Doctor Reese's request that the same formality hadn't been undergone on his forehead. The clown's beady, crazy, green eyes was drinking in the appearance of the dear doctor. Black hair, cropped short into a pixie cut around her head. The hair cut was recent, but underneath her fringe were the tell tale mousy brown roots which gave away her natural colour. Her eyes were blue, a flick of eyeliner to decorate them. Some of her eyelashes clumped together, much in the same way Harley's did when she had just put on her makeup. Small features, lips that were set into a straight line. The clown prince never wished to go into a poker match with this woman - her face up unreadable. Devoid of all emotion. Even within the blue orbs, rimmed with the natural darkness from lack of sleep, gave anything away. Doctor Reese just sat there, watching him closely.

In between them, the tape recorder still waited for someone to say something. Instead, the two of them sat there with silence pungent in the air between them, drinking the other's appearance. Doctor Evangeline Reese looked as she always did - dressed entirely in black or white, with the white lab coat hanging off her shoulders. It was too big, but she didn't seem to mind. In fact, as always, the doctor seemed to relish in the fact she had extra fabric to hide behind. Clearly not a naturally outgoing woman, but she was fine enough in the company of the clown prince of crime. If she wasn't, she wasn't letting him know.

Doctor Reese was the stark contrast of joker. In the tiled white room, his vivid green hair, bright orange jumpsuit were the only colour. Hues so vivid they hurt the eyes to look at. Maybe it was just because of the sheer white surrounding him. Either way, Doctor Reese's eyes demanded nothing more than to look away, to the ground, to the wall behind him, to the ceiling, to her notes. But instead, she remained constant and watched him. The notes wouldn't tell her anything anyway. Joker was a complete mystery, no medical records, no facial recognition. Though, that wasn't surprising. When it was hidden behind that makeup, the man looked garish. But without it, his face a softer look about it - gentler. The scars weren't as prominent. He looked almost… normal.

"What's wrong Doc, isn't this the part where you meant to prod me with questions?" The clown leaned forward, as much as his restraints allowed him to, and raised a single brow. Doctor Reese remained silent for a little while longer, and shrugged quickly.

"I was seeing if you were to open up on your own. Previous interviews have shown that you enjoy retelling everything you've done, and then usually tell some kind of back story. It has differed, from doctor to doctor, _though _recurring themes do include an alcoholic father. But since you have an impeccable skill at tricking the polygraph, no one is quite sure if this is because you enjoy the continuity of a red herring or perhaps it is just a single truth you want to be heard" Doctor Reese blinked a few times, blue eyes staring at him though it began to ware on her brain. A headache would be imminent after this session, but that was the same with all the doctors who had encountered this man.

"Well _Doc _seems you've got me pinned to a T" the clown smirked and didn't shift from his awkward leaning forward. His eyebrow fell, and suddenly green eyes were focused on her with a steely gaze. Doctor Reese briefly wondered, if she had touched a nerve. However it was most likely that she hadn't. The Joker had a wall built around the man he once was, his past, if he could even still remember it at all and so far no doctor had been able to break it. There was speculation of Dr. Quinzel had broken this pattern, but if she had then she was very good at hiding it.

"Why do you do that?" The Doctor suddenly asked, eyes filling with a sense of purpose behind her words, rather than just thriving in the silence.

"Do what, _Doc_?"

"You stress the word doctor, as if you are trying to emphasise my title. Nor do you call me by my full name. Why?"

"Well, that'd be telling. Would _'my dear' _be any better?"

"Doctor Reese, is fine thank you; and you do have a girlfriend"

Now, the Joker leaned quirked his eyebrow up and the long scar tissue from his lips pulled itself into a one sided smirk.

"No. Just reminding you that traditional relationships involve a heavy dose of monogamy." With that, a clear cut line that still hung in the air between the pair, the Joker moved backwards. Whilst Doctor Reese knew that there was nothing traditional about the Cown Prince of Crime and his Princess, it seemed to deter the man from any further advancements. But, as the criminal made a movement to open his mouth the shrill buzzing of the intercom announced the doctor was needed elsewhere. As Dr. Reese stood, she didn't hurry to be from the room. She didn't fumble to grab everything as if to have her name called out was to be released from something horrific. Instead, she carefully picked up everything, turned off her tape recorder.

"Until next time, Joker"

"Can't wait, _Doctor Reese" _

_Ah well_, Eva's thoughts sighed, as she walked from the room and paused momentarily to rest her eyes. Staring at the colours of insanity for forty five minutes had given her the headache she knew she was going to get. _Ah well, _she settled her thoughts upon again and hurried her way along to Doctor Strange's office, as the intercom had told her to. Doctor Strange unnerved her, there wasn't any real records of him on the system, yet Warden Sharp seemed to not stop singing his praises. Nonetheless, she knew that this had to be about something important…. Maybe it was the fact she took the last bottle of water from the staff vending machine yesterday. _No, don't be so stupid Eva, _she dismissed that. She probably needed to talk to him about the fact she'd been handling the Joker for a week now, as well as Ivy and some of the other more notorious members of Batman's enemies and so far she'd made… zero progress.

_Just keep calm. You can do this. _


	2. That Will Be All

Every step Eva took down the corridor echoed. Loudly. The noise of her ballet flats scuffing against the eerily clean floor vibrated around the hallway and announced her soft footed presence to the world. The doctor wasn't particularly light footed, though she did always try to make her footsteps as light as possible. When she was at her run down, small apartment, she forgot to try and make an impression. Living alone, there was no one to be dainty for and so her footsteps became somewhat resembling of a elephant trying to do ballet. She had wanted to be a ballerina once, as all little girls did. But she gave up when after two months, it wasn't exactly what she had hoped for. There was only so many times that she could 'make a sand castle' in a week. But now, in the hallways, she tried to be as quiet as a mouse.

She wondered how the other doctors did it sometimes, to walk through the halls with clickey shoes that sounded like bb guns every time their foot hit the floor. How could they stand to make themselves so _known? _The prisoners stirred as she passed them, each of their beady eyes trailing after her to see what had disturbed the 'peace'. _That _was what made Dr Reese so anxious. Sure, she could stand to be in the same room as a man like Joker for forty five minutes - but he _was _strapped down and there were armed guards both inside the room and out. She knew with just him in the room, though he was probably the most twisted mind to have ever been produced in America, she was a lot safer than walking on her own through the cell blocks that it took to get to Dr Strange's office. The eerie quiet screamed at her for breaking it with her shoes. The thought of having so many eyes watching her… to know what was most likely going on in the inmates minds as they watched her scamper through… it made her feel uncomfortable.

But it was never enough to make her want to resign. Dr Reese had been transferred to Elizabeth Arkham's Institute for the Criminally Insane for a reason, and had come with some of the highest praises from her former boss. This was a chance to tackle some of the most challenging and supposedly 'deranged' minds in her field. Being born in Gotham, she had always heard stories and even knew people who had been caught up by the 'Super Villains' schemes. She had been there when batman was first revealed to the public, when the police had declared him a menace. Evangeline was only twenty seven, but a life without the bat seemed like a life time ago. This walk, also seemed to be taking a lifetime too. Maybe, by the time she reached his office, she'd be as old and as grey as Dr Strange himself. The thought drew an amused snicker from the doctor, but she instantly chided herself for it as it was very unprofessional. Not to mention, Dr Hugo Strange still gave her the heebie jeebies.

Then, she found herself at the front door of his office, a heavy wooden door. It was a rich oak and would undoubtedly be reinforced or something. Perhaps that was why Strange enjoyed being hauled up in here so very often - it looked to be, aside from the warden's office, one of the safest places in Arkham. Which… was an almost scary thought, considering this was an Asylum for the Criminally insane. Still, she took a deep breath and flicked the dyed black hair out of her eyes. Some how, she predicted this meeting would be intense; and it didn't help to her nerves any that after this, she'd be dealing with Jonathon Crane after this meeting either. The man had recently been readmitted after a severe attack on a football game three days ago. She hoped that, he still wasn't too bitter from being caught.

She raised her hand and knocked on the great door twice, and then Eva tried not to curse under her breathe as her knuckles began to ache. Ouch. She had used too much force again, over estimating because the door was so heavy she didn't think that the door would carry. From the tiny metallic box to the side, Strange's old, foreboding voice laced with static granted her entry. Evangeline graciously twisted the door handle open and pushed her way inside. Blue eyes raked in every detail she could. Strange's office was furnished very similarly to Warden Sharpe's and was far more luxurious than anything Eva or anything of the other doctor's had. Swallowing her fear, Dr Reese shut the door behind her and listened as the locks clicked shut again behind her, locking them both in. "You requested to see me, Dr Strange?" She asked, fighting to keep her voice steady.

"Yes, I did. It's in reference to your work Schedule, Dr Reese" He replied smoothly, his tone never shifting and pace never faltering. Strange spoke in a monotone, she had noticed. It was almost hypnotic, but for Eva, who was alert and had nerves screaming in terror, but her poker face remained fastened onto her features and the younger doctor even managed a smile.

"What about it?"

"Well, I was hoping you'd tell me that you didn't have any plans for next Wednesday, as we'd like you to come in that day to work" Strange pushed his rounded, tinted glasses up his long nose and suddenly his stony grey eyes were hidden from her sights. He was now as unreadable as Eva was and it unnerved her a little. Nonetheless she kept her calm composure.

"I don't have any plans for that day, but neither do I have any reason to come in. Wednesday is my typical day off." Eva wasn't too keen on letting one of her two days a week off be snatched away from her.

"Yes, yes I know. We can reallocate your free day to the day after, Thursday. It is just that Doctor Young wants you to be there when we transfer The Joker to her" To this, Eva's stoic face broke. Shock filled her features and the woman looked almost offended.

"Wha- _Pardon? _No one told me anything about my patient getting transferred to Dr Young" Eva wasn't going to lie, Doctor Young was a brilliant doctor, and the work she was doing with Project Titan was supposedly remarkable. Eva said supposedly because, of course, it was top secret.

"That is why I am telling you now. Doctor Young requested to me yesterday that she needed Joker to help her complete project Titan. Project Titan will be good for the Asylum, and it will help-"

"-Yes yes I know, it'll help Warden Sharpe's campaign for Mayor" Eva cut off, forgetting her fear in a burst of irritation. She'd been barely given any time to make progress with Joker. And _now _he was being taken from her? She was angry beyond belief and Doctor Strange raised an eyebrow behind his glasses. He didn't expect the sudden outburst from the doctor, but almost relished in her sudden show of emotion. He enjoyed knowing what made people tick, and it seemed to him that she had a bad reaction to having things taken from her. He began to open his mouth to speak, but once again a clearly ruffled Dr Reese cut him off. "So I'll come in on Wednesday as I usually would, and then be there to grin and shake hands with Dr Young. Will that be all, Dr Strange?" she forced a smile on her face in attempt to be sweet, and the older doctor gave her a curt nod.

"_That will be all"_


End file.
